Women still carry the load with housework and child care despite men doing more

Shane Wright, Economics EditorThe West Australian

Tuesday, 31 July 2018 2:00AM

VideoThe results from the annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey have been released, with some interesting findings.

Women are increasing the number of hours they work, do chores around the house and look after children or relatives even as men try to do more.

The long-running Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia report, which has tracked 17,500 people since 2001, has revealed that as men have lifted their effort to look after children and do work around the house, women have done even more.

And women are getting more upset at what they see as an unequal division of labour around the house.

The survey found that women carry out 24.9 hours of paid work a week and 20.4 hours of housework and care for children or a relative for 11.3 hours.

Over a full week, the average woman with a partner puts in 56.6 hours, up from 54 hours in 2002.

In 2002, women on average did more housework than paid work but that has reversed over the past 16 years.

Men carry out 35.9 hours of paid work and 13.3 hours of housework and spend 5.4 hours on caring for kids for a weekly total of 54.6 hours.

Males have sharply increased their housework and care effort but are working the same paid hours as they did in 2002.

Report co-author Inga Lass said it appeared there was a growing divide between men and women about traditional gender arrangements when it came to parenting and work.

“There is also a significant discrepancy between the way women and men envision a fair share of work,” Dr Lass said.

“HILDA shows most women feel overburdened by house-hold chores, while most men think they do their fair share.”

The increase in working hours has also led to parents using more child care, which is gobbling up a bigger share of weekly incomes.

The survey found couples have increased the hours of child care by 24 per cent since 2005.

Couples spend a median $154 on child care, an increase of 117 per cent since 2002.

It has been even tougher for single parents, with their median weekly childcare costs growing 133 per cent to $102 over the same period.

Almost 8 per cent of household income goes towards child care, with lower income couples bearing the biggest hit.